1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to shipping containers and in particular to a carton for carrying garments on hangers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Passengers on airlines frequently carry clothes on hangers, normally enclosed within flexible garment bags. The bags are usually plastic and have an aperture at the top for the hanger hooks to extend. Unless suspended by the hangers, the bag will collapse and the clothes may wrinkle. Often a passenger desires to "check" his garment bag, as opposed to carrying it himself on the plane. Transferring the garment bag to the loading section of the airport and into the storage area of the plane efficiently and without wrinkling the clothes is a difficult task. One practice is to simply place the garment bag in a rectangular cardboard box, however wrinkling of the clothes may occur since the garment bag is not supported by the hangers.
Shipping cartons that will support clothes on hangers are known in the art, although not normally used for airline passenger service. One such carton is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,242. Frequently these cartons have separate supporting bars, which may be metal, and frequently the cartons are complex and difficult to assemble. For airline use, it is desirable that the cartons be of a single piece and collapse flat, to save storage space. The cartons must be easily and quickly foldable into operable position, and preferably not require any adhesive tape.